Today, voice communication is made possible through a variety of well-known means, including conventional telephones, cellular telephones, Internet phones, and the like. As these conventional means of voice communication have become reliable, there has been a steady increase in the demand for video in conjunction with voice communications.
In response to the demand for voice and video communications, designers developed video phones, such as cellular phones and Internet phones that provide both voice and video capability. Internet video phones, which offer voice and video communications over the Internet, are now technological realities. Internet video phones offer enhanced and effective communications by providing full-duplex audio and point-to-point video, all in one package.
Nowadays, it is not uncommon to find cellular phones that also provide video capability aside from the customary voice functionality. While video phones in general continue to gain popularity, they tend to be rather cost prohibitive, partly because of the often expensive video processing components that such phones require. Additionally, the popularity of video phones may be inhibited because of the large bandwidth required to transmit video signals. It is not surprising that a large bandwidth may be required for video transmission considering that a TV-quality video (in the United States) amounts to transmitting roughly 30 video frames per second.
A need thus exists for an efficient method and apparatus for providing animated images of a participant during a call.